Chapter 36: Spawn Camping

When we got onto the deck, I could feel the ship rocking gently beneath me as I enjoyed the fresh air. I only now truly realized how bad the cabin had smelled. Five and Six flanked out beside me, both also lifting their faces to the breeze and inhaling deeply. I smiled as the sun gently caressed my face and walked to the railing to enjoy another day at sea.

The sea was calm, and there was nothing on the horizon. The voyage wasn't long. Getting across this inland sea would only take a few days. But I couldn't help finding myself wishing that it had taken longer. This was the first time I could ever remember relaxing. Something about the gentle motion of the ship and the fresh smell of salt. It was much better than the grimy port had led me to believe seafaring was.

This would have been a great vacation if I hadn't felt bad about how One was faring. But she had planned the route and knew the consequences. Her going through this willingly was almost more of a testament to her loyalty than any other absurd thing she's done so far.

Six came up next to me and pressed her hand against my back as she leaned into me, while Five spun around and watched behind us as she leaned on the railing. Six rested her head against my shoulder, and I could feel her slight laugh shake her body. "I don't remember you taking so much pleasure in the sea, Master, but I'm glad you like it."

I looked down at her and grunted. "It was unexpected," I said. "Maybe it's just the weather. You don't seem displeased by the voyage either."

Six shrugged. "I've always enjoyed the ocean. So many interesting things can happen on a ship," she said, her exaggerated tone giving away what she was actually thinking.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Not the same without the accompanying cast of nobles, I assume."

Six shook her head. "No, it certainly is not. A little boring, but I can see it being relaxing."

Five said nothing, just kept her head in a swivel, watching all the soldiers and sailors go about their business.

Six and I talked a little about ships and sailing as she recounted all the recent voyages she'd been on since her time in the nobility. I assumed that she had traveled a decent amount, and it was good to know some of the common passages. As I asked how she enjoyed each of the trips in her own way, our talk was interrupted.

A cry from the crow's nest up top alerted everyone, and soon, the captain was bellowing orders, calling for all hands on deck to prepare for boarding. Looking around, I was confused, seeing no other ship, but Six and Five shared knowing glances. They hissed a few words of conversation. Five nodded and sprinted off to the other side. Six, pressing her back against me and drawing a pair of knives from some hidden sheaths.

I glance around, feeling my own weapons, unsure what the threat was. But when a webbed hand appeared on the railing beside me, I was quick to act, drawing smoothly and stabbing down a dagger through the hand, pinning it to the railing. A garbled, fleshy yell from behind me made me look over the edge of the ship and see that dozens of weird fishmen with frog hands were climbing up the sides.

A spirited glance behind me saw Six expertly butchering one in front of me. All around, the creatures had managed to get up on the decks. Four or five quick slashes of Six's knives had the thing twitching on the ground, several tendons cut, and it was quickly bleeding out through a deep wound in its neck. On the other side of the ship, I saw Five dashing through the throng of unarmored fish creatures that were attempting to get after the crew.

But Five's ferocious speed and un-frenzied assault with what looked to be a full-on hatchet and knife that she'd somehow stashed on her person were slicing through them like a hot knife through butter. I drew my weapons, not seeing a major threat, but again, not wanting to risk wasting any of my limited stock of poison or throwing weapons, I stuck with a pair of daggers.

Six and I methodically managed our way down the edge of the railing, keeping our portion of the ship clear of the rather odd assault. We could have gone much faster, but six refused to leave my side, even if it would have been more efficient if we had split up. Her constant watch on my back was completely unnecessary, I assured her, but that did little to persuade her. And I eventually gave up on my attempts to persuade her. After we cut down several more.

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As we went, I started to be careful to try to get them to fall off the ship, as the deck was becoming crowded with the fish monsters, and not all the sailors were as lucky as we were. Several of them had grouped up into knots, defending key points of the ship. The captain and several of the officers were defending the ship's wheel, and others were guarding masts or entry points to the riggings, preventing the monsters from getting even higher. But as many as we killed, they kept coming.

"How many are there?" I yelled to Six over the clamor. She looked around and over the edge.

I wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she came up and shook her head. "We're halfway through."

'Kill them faster," I said, trying again to convince her to leave my side.

She shook her head. "That won't help. We need to get out of their spawn."

Their spawn? I thought to myself. Were these monsters regenerating? Or is it just them protecting their nest, and they would throw themselves in endless waves? As suddenly as the wave of monsters attacking us began, the fisherman stopped coming. I hadn't noticed that they stopped climbing up over the railing until the last one on deck was dead, and the ship actually sat a little bit lower on the water from all the extra weight.

The captain began shouting, and the soldiers sorted themselves out, the wounded going below and the healthy beginning to heave bodies off of the decks. Six and I were soon rejoined by Five, who looked exactly as when she had left us to thin the enemy. Only a few strands of hair hanging in her face showed that she had spent a significant amount of effort at all.

The three of us approached the captain after a few minutes. He turned to us and gave us a bow. "I'm sorry, my lord. That shouldn't have happened. It was the wrong time of year, and the Garoupa should have still been hibernating."

I just nodded. "Yes, it was unexpected."

The captain seemed relieved and continued to explain himself. "Yes, well, their spawning time should have already happened, and they should be all in torpor after laying their clutch. But something must have happened. Either they must be late, or they've already spawned. But it seems that whoever was in charge of calling them this year was not proper about it. Either they didn't want to spend so long in their nests, or they were just lazy."

The man continued to make excuses for why the assault was more ferocious or longer or at the wrong time. I wasn't exactly sure which one to believe, but I listened and let him get his frustrations out before reassuring him that we were fine and that he should see to his men. As the captain walked away, Five shook her head and let out a dry laugh. "That man."

Six put her hand on my arm. "I think you were too lenient, master. He's probably put you in danger."

I shook my head. "I was in no danger. Any one of his excuses might be a perfectly valid reason. Besides, I'm assuming that we're going this way because it's the fastest route. I'd rather deal with this minor delay than add too much time to our voyage by going around it."

Six nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose that's true, but at the same time, some warning would have been nice."

I looked around. "Neither of you hurt? Didn't he get below?"

They both shook their heads. "No, they couldn't touch me. I've said if I was entirely alone on the ship, they still wouldn't touch me."

Six did not take part in the boasting but did confirm that she hadn't seen any go below.

"We should check, just in case, to make sure One and Four were not disturbed," I suggested. The two of them nodded, and we headed down below. This time, I didn't go into the room to check on them, letting five poke her head in briefly before receiving the all-clear.

***

The rest of the voyage was entirely uneventful, and it wasn't until the ship was moored to the pier and I was already down the gangplank with five and Six, and the servants were loading up our coaches that I saw One again. Four had helped her down, and they had been sitting at the end of the pier, waiting for One to recover before they came to greet me.

One looked like she had lost several pounds, and her face was still pale, but a bit of color had returned to her cheeks, and her skin didn't look as clammy anymore. She and four greeted me with proper deference, each dipping low.

"Master," they said as one.

I responded, "I'm glad to see you doing well. Are you ready to continue our journey?"

"Yes, master."